Information processing apparatus, display control method and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with an external apparatus, comprises: an obtainment unit that obtains information from an external apparatus; a determination unit that determines an operation mode of the information processing apparatus; and a notification unit that performs a notification based on the information obtained by the obtainment unit, wherein the notification unit, if the mode determined by the determination unit is a specific operation mode, performs the notification based on the information obtained by the obtainment unit in a second notification screen that is smaller than a first notification screen, and, if the mode determined by the determination unit is not the specific operation mode, performs the notification based on the information obtained by the obtainment unit in the first notification screen.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, adisplay control method, and a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium.

Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there is a technique that can switch an operation modeof an operating system (hereinafter, OS) that operates on an informationprocessing apparatus. For example, in Windows 10 (registered trademark)which is an OS of Microsoft Corporation, a desktop mode premised uponusage while a plurality of windows are displayed, and a tablet modepremised upon usage of one window in a full screen mode are implemented.A user can perform work while changing the operation mode of the OS inaccordance with an intended use.

Some applications perform a notification to a user by performing apop-up display of a screen under specific conditions (an erroroccurrence or the like). If a notification by a pop-up of a screen isperformed during work in the tablet mode described above, there is apossibility that it would obstruct a user operation. Therefore, atechnique (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-060400) forpreventing a reduction of work efficiency by not performing a display ofpredetermined information when it is detected that the OS is operatingin a specific operation mode premised upon being used in a full screenmode such as the tablet mode described above is proposed.

However, in the specific operation mode, if configuration is taken suchthat a notification regarding an error that has occurred in a printer isnot performed, there may be cases where inconvenience occurs when usinga device such as a printer. For example, there may be a case in which auser does not notice that printing that they have executed has stoppeddue to a printer error or the like. When a printer remains stopped dueto an error or the like, in a case where the printer is being used bysharing in an office environment or the like, this may lead to alsoobstructing the work of other users who cause subsequent printing to beexecuted. Accordingly, performing a notification that obstructs a useroperation as little as possible in a specific operation mode such as thetablet mode described above is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus capable of communicating with anexternal apparatus, the information processing apparatus comprising: anobtainment unit configured to obtain information from an externalapparatus; a determination unit configured to determine an operationmode of the information processing apparatus; and a notification unitconfigured to perform a notification based on the information obtainedby the obtainment unit, wherein the notification unit, if the modedetermined by the determination unit is a specific operation mode,performs the notification based on the information obtained by theobtainment unit in a second notification screen that is smaller than afirst notification screen, and, if the mode determined by thedetermination unit is not the specific operation mode, performs thenotification based on the information obtained by the obtainment unit inthe first notification screen.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda display control method in an information processing apparatus capableof communicating with an external apparatus, comprising: obtaininginformation from an external apparatus; determining an operation mode ofthe information processing apparatus; and performing a notificationbased on the obtained information, wherein if the mode determined is aspecific operation mode, performs the notification based on the obtainedinformation in a second notification screen that is smaller than a firstnotification screen, and, if the mode determined is not the specificoperation mode, performs the notification based on the obtainedinformation in the first notification screen.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program forcausing a computer to function as: an obtainment unit configured toobtain information from an external apparatus; a determination unitconfigured to determine an operation mode of the computer; and anotification unit configured to perform a notification based on theinformation obtained by the obtainment unit, wherein the notificationunit, if the mode determined by the determination unit is a specificoperation mode, performs the notification based on the informationobtained by the obtainment unit in a second notification screen that issmaller than a first notification screen, and, if the mode determined bythe determination unit is not the specific operation mode, performs thenotification based on the information obtained by the obtainment unit inthe first notification screen.

By the present application invention, it is possible to suitably performa notification to a user in accordance with an operation mode of aninformation processing apparatus.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an example of a hardware configuration ofa printing apparatus and an information processing apparatus accordingto the present application invention.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an example of a configuration of theprinting apparatus and the information processing apparatus according toa first embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are views illustrating display examples of notificationsaccording to the present application invention.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a display example of an option settingscreen according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for display change processing according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example of a configuration of aprinting apparatus and an information processing apparatus according toa second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for the display change processing according to thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a display example of an option settingscreen according to the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Below, explanation is given in detail of preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Notethat the following embodiments do not limit the present invention inregard to the scope of the patent claims, and, in addition, there is nolimitation to all combinations of the features explained in theembodiments being necessary for means for solving the present invention.

First Embodiment

With reference to FIG. 1, explanation is given of an example of ahardware configuration of an information processing apparatus and aprinting apparatus according to the present embodiment. Note that, inthe present embodiment, explanation is given in which a printingapparatus is raised as an example of an external apparatus that connectsto an information processing apparatus. However, there is no limitationto this, and an external apparatus may be an MFP (Multi-FunctionPeripheral), an image forming apparatus such as a scanner apparatus or aFAX apparatus, or may be another apparatus.

An information processing apparatus 100 has an input interface 102, aCPU 103, a ROM 104, a RAM 105, a storage apparatus 106, an outputinterface 108, a display unit 107, a keyboard 101, a mouse 109, and anetwork interface 110. The network interface 110 is connected via anetwork cable 111 to a network 190. The CPU 103 (central processingunit) performs calculation processing to control the operations of eachunit of the information processing apparatus 100. The ROM 104 is anon-volatile storage region and stores an initialization program or thelike. The storage apparatus 106 is a non-volatile storage region andsaves a group of application programs, an OS (operating system), aprinter driver, and other various data. The RAM 105 is a volatilestorage region and is used as a work memory by various programs storedin the storage apparatus 106, which is a hard disk or the like. Inaddition, the information processing apparatus 100 according to thepresent embodiment is assumed to be able to switch the operation modesof the OS (not shown) that operates in the information processingapparatus 100. Here, explanation is given of an example of a desktopmode and a tablet mode used in Windows 10 (registered trademark), an OSof Microsoft Corporation. As described above, the tablet mode is anoperation mode premised on the fact that a window is used in a fullscreen mode and is referred to as a first operation mode for conveniencehere. Also, the desktop mode is an operation mode in which it ispossible to display several windows in a screen and is referred to as asecond operation mode for convenience here.

The mouse 109 and the keyboard 101 are operation units, and a user canuse them to appropriately perform various kinds of necessary settings.The information processing apparatus 100 can accept a user input from anoperation unit, via the input interface 102. An image is displayed inthe display unit 107, by outputting image data to the display unit 107via the output interface 108. Note that, in the present embodiment,although the display unit 107 and the operation units are given asdifferent configurations, there is no limitation to this, and they maybe configured such that at least a portion thereof is integrated as witha touch panel or the like. In addition, the network interface 110 isconnected via the network cable 111 to the network 190. Note thatconfiguration may be taken so as to connect to the network 190 bywireless communication.

A printing apparatus 150 has a network interface 151, a RAM 152, a printengine 153, a ROM 154, and a CPU 156. The network interface 151 isconnected via a network cable 157 to the network 190. Note thatconfiguration may be taken so as to connect to the network 190 bywireless communication. The RAM 152 is a volatile storage region, isused as a work memory and a main memory of the CPU 156, and savesvarious data or a reception buffer for temporarily saving a receivedprint job. The print engine 153 is included in a printing unit thatperforms printing based on data saved in the RAM 152. The ROM 154 is anon-volatile storage region, and stores various control programs such asa status management program 155, and data used by each control program.The CPU 156 (central processing unit) performs calculation processing tocontrol the operations of each unit of the printing apparatus 150. TheCPU 156 controls each unit of the printing apparatus 150 in accordancewith a control program stored in the ROM 154.

The status management program 155 is a program for monitoring aprocessing status of a print job or a state of the printing apparatus150 based on, for example, information of various sensors (not shown) inthe printing apparatus 150, generating status information, and storingit in the RAM 152.

Here, although distribution of processing of the information processingapparatus 100 and the printing apparatus 150 was described above as anexample, there is no limitation in particular to this distributionconfiguration, and another configuration may be used.

FIG. 2 illustrates a software configuration example of a systemaccording to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, theinformation processing apparatus 100 and the printing apparatus 150 arecommunicably connected.

The information processing apparatus 100 transmits a print job to theprinting apparatus 150 via the network 190, by a printer driver (notshown) or the like. The printing apparatus 150 performs print processingby controlling a printing unit (not shown) in accordance with the printcontrol unit 231.

An application 211 operates on the information processing apparatus 100.The application 211 is a module of a portion of a printer driver (notshown), and is an application for causing management information of theprinting apparatus 150 which is an external apparatus to be displayed.The application 211 starts when an execution button for printing isselected, or when a start button of the application 211 is selected. Theapplication 211 is configured by including an operation mode obtainmentunit 212, a first display unit 213, a second display unit 214, a displaycontrol changing unit 215, and a management information obtainment unit216. The operation mode obtainment unit 212 can obtain operation modeinformation of the OS. The first display unit 213 causes a UI of theapplication 211 to be displayed on the display unit 107. The managementinformation obtainment unit 216 obtains management information that isobtained from the printing apparatus 150. The first display unit 213performs a detailed display relating to a state of the printingapparatus 150, based on the obtained management information. Explanationis given by FIG. 3A regarding a display example of the UI. The seconddisplay unit 214 causes, on the display unit 107, a simple display so asnot to obstruct a user operation. For example, the second display unit214 performs a display by using an OS notification function from theapplication 211. Explanation is given by FIG. 3B regarding a displayexample.

A window information obtainment unit 217 obtains window information ofother software currently being displayed in the display unit 107 of theinformation processing apparatus 100. The display control changing unit215 changes the display of the application 211, based on the informationobtained by the operation mode obtainment unit 212 and the informationobtained by the window information obtainment unit 217. Using FIG. 5,explanation is given later regarding a display change flow of theapplication 211. Via the network 190, the management informationobtainment unit 216 obtains, for example, job information or inkinformation of the printing apparatus 150 that is caused to be held by amanagement information holding unit 232 in the printing apparatus 150.Note that, in the present embodiment, although configuration is suchthat information is obtained via the network 190, configuration may betaken obtain information after connecting the information processingapparatus 100 and the printing apparatus 150 by an interface such as USBor IEEE 1394.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a notification screen that theapplication 211 displays by using the first display unit 213. FIG. 3A isan error notification screen, and is one kind of notification screenthat is notified by the application 211. A notification screen that isnotified when in the desktop mode is assumed to be a first notificationscreen. Note that the first notification screen is presented by theapplication 211. A screen 300 of the application 211 is configured byincluding a title bar 301, a message display portion 302, a jobinformation display portion 303, an ink information display portion 304,and an option setting button 305. The title bar 301 displays anapplication name, a printer name, or the like. The message displayportion 302 displays a message for indicating the state of the printingapparatus 150 based on the information obtained by the managementinformation obtainment unit 216. Although FIG. 3A is illustrated assomething for displaying information that indicates error content and amessage for prompting a user to cancel the error, configuration may betaken to display only one of these. The job information display portion303 displays information relating to a print job being executed by theprinting apparatus 150, based on the information obtained by themanagement information obtainment unit 216. The ink information displayportion 304 performs a display regarding ink information of the printingapparatus 150 based on the information obtained by the managementinformation obtainment unit 216. By pressing the option setting button305, an option setting screen 400 that is explained later is displayed.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a notification screen that theapplication 211 displays by using the second display unit 214.Illustrated here is a display example that uses a toast notificationfunction that is a notification function of a Windows (registeredtrademark) OS of Microsoft Corporation.

In the present embodiment, a display that uses the toast notificationfunction when an error has occurred in the tablet mode is performed. Inthe present embodiment, the screen 310 is used in place of the screen300 of FIG. 3A when performing a simplified notification. Note thatthere is no limitation to a toast notification function, and anothernotification function of the OS may be used to perform a simple UIdisplay. In addition, a simple UI display may be performed by a functionof the application 211 itself. A title bar 311 displays an applicationname, a printer name, or the like. A message display portion 312displays a message indicating that there is a notification regardingprinting. Configuration may be taken to use the first display unit 213to display the UI of the application 211 when a user clicks on themessage display portion 312. A second notification screen presented bythe toast notification function has a smaller display size than thefirst screen. For a display position in the screen, it is displayed onan edge portion side of the window.

FIG. 4 illustrates a display example of the option setting screen 400 ofthe application 211 according to the first embodiment. The optionsetting screen 400 is displayed when the option setting button 305 ofthe screen 300 is pressed. The option setting screen 400 is used whenperforming condition setting when performing a simplified notification,and by this realizes a condition setting receiving unit. The optionsetting screen 400 is configured by including a title bar 401, asimplified notification setting portion 402, and a simplifiednotification method setting portion 405. The title bar 401 displays thename of a dialog, such as “option setting”. In the simplifiednotification setting portion 402, a setting item 403 that enablesselection of whether to perform a simplified notification in thespecific operation mode (here, the tablet mode) in the OS is included.Furthermore, when the setting item 403 is ON, a setting item 404 forwhether to detect a start state of other software is included. As adefault setting, the setting item 403 is ON by the entry of a check in acheck-box. In this state, upon detecting being in the tablet mode, if anerror occurs in the printing apparatus 150, a simplified notification asillustrated in FIG. 3B is performed. If the check of the setting item403 is removed to turn the setting OFF, if, in the tablet mode, an erroroccurs in the printing apparatus, notification is performed bydisplaying the screen 300 illustrated in FIG. 3A.

As a default setting, the setting item 404 is ON by the entry of a checkin a check-box. In this state, upon detecting the tablet mode and that awindow of another piece of software is started, the screen 310 asillustrated in FIG. 3B is used to perform a simplified notification. Inother words, even in the tablet mode, if a window of another piece ofsoftware is not started, the screen 300 as illustrated in FIG. 3A isused to perform a notification. Due to removing the check of the settingitem 404 to turn the setting OFF, a simplified notification is performedif in the tablet mode, regardless of a start state of other software. Inother words, when not the specific operation mode (here, when in thedesktop mode), a notification is performed by a method other than asimplified notification.

By the simplified notification method setting portion 405, it ispossible to alternatively select by a radio button whether to perform anotification by email or whether to perform a notification by using anOS notification function (toast), as methods of a simplifiednotification. Here, it is assumed that a setting for performing anotification by using the OS notification function (toast) is made as adefault setting. Note that configuration may be taken such that it ispossible to further perform a setting of an email address whennotification by email is selected. In addition, configuration may betaken such that it is possible to select both as the method of asimplified notification.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of display change processing when the application211 according to the first embodiment is started. This processing flowis realized by the CPU 103 of the information processing apparatus 100reading the application 211 stored in the storage apparatus 106 or thelike and executing it. For FIG. 5, it is assumed to be a state in which,in the option setting screen 400 illustrated in FIG. 4, the settingitems 403 and 404 of the simplified notification setting portion 402 areboth set to ON, and the simplified notification method setting portion405 is set so that notifications are performed using the OS notificationfunction (toast).

When a user uses the printing apparatus 150 to execute printing, aprinter driver (not shown) equipped by the information processingapparatus 100 starts the application 211. Note that, regarding a methodof starting the application 211, for example, the application 211 may bestarted by a user operation, or another piece of software that detects,for example, that an error has occurred in the printing apparatus 150may start the application 211.

In step S501, the application 211 obtains the operation mode of the OSby the operation mode obtainment unit 212.

In step S502, the application 211 determines whether the operation modeof the OS is the tablet mode. If the operation mode of the OS is thetablet mode (YES in step S502), a transition is made to the processingof step S503. Note that the operation mode is not limited to the desktopmode and the tablet mode. For example, additionally, configuration maybe taken so as to handle a case of a full-screen mode, which is used soas to not allow another window to be displayed when a user appreciatinga game, a DVD, or the like, similarly to the tablet mode. When not thetablet mode, in other words when the desktop mode (NO in step S502),transition is made to the processing of step S508.

In step S503, the application 211 obtains window information of anotherpiece of software that is being displayed on the OS. Specifically,information relating to the display state of another window is obtainedhere.

In step S504, the application 211 determines whether the window of theother piece of software is present on the screen of the OS. In otherwords, it is determined whether the window of the other piece ofsoftware is being displayed on a foreground on the OS screen. If thewindow of the other piece of software is present (YES in step S504), atransition is made to the processing of step S505, and if it is notpresent (NO in step S504), a transition is made to the processing ofstep S508.

In step S505, the application 211 determines to perform a backgroundstart, and operation continues in the background without causing the UIof the application 211 to be displayed.

In step S506, the application 211 uses the notification function of theOS (toast notification function) to perform a toast display asillustrated in FIG. 3B, by the second display unit 214. By this, theapplication 211 notifies information to a user.

A toast used here is an OS standard notification method that isimplemented in Windows 8 (registered trademark) onward. A toast displayis a simplified notification screen, and for example a screen size isdecided in advance, only characters can be displayed, and there are alsorestrictions on a number of characters displayed. A toast display alsodoes not steal the focus of an application window (UI) that a user isoperating (is currently being displayed). In addition, a toast displayhas a notification interval of approximately five seconds by default,and when that interval passes, the toast display disappears from thescreen. Therefore, it is possible to make a notification to the effectthat there is information that should be notified, obstructing user workas little as possible. In addition, even if a toast display disappears,a history remains in history information of the OS. Therefore, even if auser misses clicking on a toast in the set interval, it is possible tostart the application from the OS history information.

For the display content of toast, configuration may be taken to showsimplified information to the effect that there is some kind ofnotification regarding printing as illustrated in FIG. 3B, or display anoverview of notification content by a screen. By this, it becomespossible to perform a notification that is limited to simpleinformation. In addition, configuration may be taken to have a simplerdisplay by making a message displayed in a toast be as short aspossible. As a trigger of a toast display, an application 211 side maymake an instruction by an API (Application Programming Interface) forperforming a toast display, or it may be left to an OS side. In a casewhere a toast display is left to the OS, for example there is anecessity to obtain an event regarding an error or the like of aprinting apparatus, and perform an event setting to output a toast. Ifan application makes an instruction for a toast display, it is possibleto arbitrarily control a display time of the toast, a position at whichit is displayed, and a message to display. When leaving the toastdisplay to the OS, it is possible for the OS to detect an event anddisplay a toast without performing regular monitoring of the state ofthe printing apparatus by the application program side.

As an example of a simplified notification, although explanation wasgiven regarding a method by a toast display, configuration may be takento perform a UI display without impeding a user operation as much aspossible other than this. Note that, in this case too, it is assumed tobe something smaller than the first notification screen. For example, itis assumed to be something that is approximately equal to a toastdisplay or is smaller than a toast display. Configuration may be takento, for example, display by making the size of the UI of the application211 small while the application is started in the background. Inaddition, configuration may be taken to display by changing the displayposition of the UI of the application 211 to a screen edge or the like,and configuration may be taken to limit detail displayed on the UI ofthe application 211 to be only the message display portion 302, forexample.

In step S507, the application 211 determines whether a screen displayedby the toast notification function has been clicked. If the screendisplayed by the toast notification function has been clicked (YES instep S507), a transition is made to the processing of step S508, and ifnot clicked (NO in step S507), this processing flow terminates.

In step S508, the application 211 displays the UI of the application 211indicated in FIG. 3A in the foreground, by the first display unit 213.At this point the toast display disappears. The first display unit 213displays information of each ink of the printing apparatus 150, by theink information display portion 304 of the screen 300. In addition, thefirst display unit 213 displays progress information of a job beingexecuted in the printing apparatus 150 by the job information displayportion 303, and displays, for example, information relating to an errorthat has occurred in the printing apparatus 150 by the message displayportion 302. This processing flow is then terminated.

The information that the information processing apparatus 100 obtainsfrom the printing apparatus 150 is information for a user to knowwhether a requested print job is appropriately progressing, and whethera state of a consumable or the like of the printing apparatus 150 isappropriate. However, because a display region is limited in anOS-standard notification method such as a toast, there may be cases inwhich is not possible to perform a display appropriately. Therefore,configuration may be taken such that a vendor generates their ownapplication to display status information of each ink of the printingapparatus, progress information of a job being executed in the printingapparatus, and information regarding an error that has occurred. In acase of the desktop mode or in a state in which a window of anotherpiece of software has not been started even if it is the tablet mode,the UI of the application 211 is displayed instead of a toast display.By this it is possible to perform a display while bothering a user aslittle as possible.

In addition, the processing flow illustrated in FIG. 5 has processingdetails that are based on default values of the simple settingsillustrated in FIG. 4. Therefore, if a change from the default values inthe option setting screen 400 of FIG. 4 is performed, correspondingdetermination processing in the processing of FIG. 5 is omitted.

Therefore, by the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriatelychange whether to perform a display by a detailed UI or whether toperform a simplified notification by using an OS notification functionor the like, in accordance with an operation mode of the OS and a windowstart state of another piece of software. In the case of a simplifiednotification, because, in comparison to a detailed UI display, a windowsize is smaller and display content is limited to information of minimumnecessary, it is possible to perform a notification without obstructinga user operation.

Second Embodiment

In the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration explained inthe first embodiment, explanation is given regarding a configurationthat enables display control of an application in accordance with a jobprogress status, by confirming an issued job progress status and errorinformation of a printing apparatus. Note that basic operation in asystem of the second embodiment is similar to that of the firstembodiment, and only differences are explained. In addition, in thefigures, explanation is given by adding the same reference numerals tothe same configurations.

FIG. 6 illustrates a software configuration example of a systemaccording to the second embodiment. The application 211 operates on theinformation processing apparatus 100. The application 211 is providedwith a job determination unit 600 and an error determination unit 601 inaddition to the operation mode obtainment unit 212, the first displayunit 213, the second display unit 214, the display control changing unit215, the management information obtainment unit 216, and the windowinformation obtainment unit 217 indicated in the first embodiment.

The job determination unit 600 determines, from information relating toa job in the managed information obtained from the printing apparatus150 by the management information obtainment unit 216, whether a job forwhich execution was requested by itself is currently executing in theprinting apparatus 150. The error determination unit 601 determines,based on information relating to an error in the managed informationobtained from the printing apparatus 150 by the management informationobtainment unit 216, whether an error such as printing by the printingapparatus 150 stopping has occurred. For example, in the errordetermination unit 601, it is determined based on error classificationinformation in the information relating to an error obtained from theprinting apparatus 150, whether printing has stopped. As the errorclassification information of each error, a state such as a servicecall, an operator call, or a warning is obtained. The errordetermination unit 601 determines that printing is stopped if an errorclassified into the classifications of a service call or an operatorcall has occurred, and does not determine that printing is stopped if anerror classified into the classification of a warning has occurred.

The display control changing unit 215 changes the display of theapplication 211 based on the information obtained by the operation modeobtainment unit 212 and the window information obtainment unit 217, thedetermination result of the job determination unit 600, and thedetermination result of the error determination unit 601.

FIG. 8 illustrates a display example of an option setting screen 800 ofthe application 211 according to the present embodiment. The optionsetting screen 800 is displayed when the option setting button 305 ofFIG. 3A is pressed. The option setting screen 800 is configured byincluding a title bar 801, a simplified notification setting portion802, and a simplified notification method setting portion 806. Note thatbecause it is similar to the first embodiment except for a setting item805 of the simplified notification setting portion 802, explanation isomitted.

In the simplified notification setting portion 802, the setting item 805of whether to notify only an error for a job instructed by itself, whena setting item 803 for whether to perform a simplified notification inthe specific operation mode (here, the tablet mode) in the OS is ON isincluded. As a default setting, the setting item 805 is ON by the entryof a check in a check-box. In this state, a simplified notification asillustrated in FIG. 3B is displayed on in the case of the tablet modeand when an error has occurred for a job that it made an instructionfor. Notification is not performed if there is no error in a job that itinstructed. By removing the check of the setting item 805 to turn thesetting OFF, when an error has occurred, a simplified notification isperformed if in the tablet mode, regardless of whether an error hasoccurred in a job that it instructed.

[Processing Flow]

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of display change processing at a time of thestart of an application according to the present embodiment. Explanationis given only for differences with the processing flow of FIG. 5 that isindicated in the first embodiment. This processing flow is realized bythe CPU 103 of the information processing apparatus 100 reading theapplication 211 stored in the storage apparatus 106 or the like andexecuting it. For FIG. 7, it is assumed to be a state in which, in theoption setting screen 800 illustrated in FIG. 8, the setting items 803to 805 of the simplified notification setting portion 802 are all set toON, and the simplified notification method setting portion 405 is set sothat notifications are performed using the OS notification function(toast).

After the processing of step S505, in step S701 the application 211obtains, by the management information obtainment unit 216, for example,the error information, job information, and ink information of theprinting apparatus 150 that has been caused to be held by the managementinformation holding unit 232.

In step S702, the application 211 determines whether there is an errorbased on the operated requested by the information processing apparatus100. Here, the application 211, by the job determination unit 600,determines, from the job information obtained in step S701, whether itis in a state in which an error has occurred due to a job that it hasinstructed execution for. As an example of information used in thedetermination here, it is possible to use information of a name of aninformation processing apparatus that issued the job, an owner name thatissued the job, or a GUID that uniquely identifies the job. If itdetermines that an error has occurred in a job that it instructedexecution for (YES in step S702), a transition is made to the processingof step S506, and a toast display is performed. If it determines that anerror has not occurred in a job that it instructed execution for (NO instep S702), this processing flow terminates. In other words, if an errorhas not occurred in a job that it instructed execution for, an errornotification screen is not displayed. Processing for step S506 onward issimilar to that in the first embodiment.

Therefore, by the present embodiment, in addition to the effect of thefirst embodiment, it is possible to perform a notification that does notobstruct user work as much as possible, even in cases other than where ajob issued by an information processing apparatus itself has stopped dueto an error. Note that, in the present embodiment, although descriptionwas given a case in which a job issued by an information processingapparatus itself is stopped due to an error, in addition configurationmake be taken, for example, to change whether to perform a simplifiednotification in accordance with a classification or an emergency levelof the error.

Another Embodiment

Note that, in the above described embodiment, although explanation wasgiven regarding a notification method for a case where an error hasoccurred, additionally configuration may be taken such that notificationis performed by a similar method when starting printing.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2016-047370, filed Mar. 10, 2016, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus capable ofcommunicating with an external apparatus, the information processingapparatus comprising: an obtainment unit configured to obtaininformation from an external apparatus; a determination unit configuredto determine an operation mode of the information processing apparatus;and a notification unit configured to perform a notification based onthe information obtained by the obtainment unit, wherein thenotification unit, if the mode determined by the determination unit is aspecific operation mode, performs the notification based on theinformation obtained by the obtainment unit in a second notificationscreen that is smaller than a first notification screen, and, if themode determined by the determination unit is not the specific operationmode, performs the notification based on the information obtained by theobtainment unit in the first notification screen.
 2. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation mode ofthe information processing apparatus includes a first operation mode fordisplaying one window in a foreground in a display unit, and a secondoperation mode in which a plurality of windows can be displayed, and thespecific operation mode is the first operation mode.
 3. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the secondnotification screen is a notification screen for performing anotification without stealing a focus of a window currently displayed asa method of displaying a screen, and the notification unit can selectthe first notification screen or the second notification screen.
 4. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesecond notification screen is a simplified notification screen.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the firstnotification screen includes at least one of information indicating anoverview of the information obtained by the obtainment unit, and amessage to the effect that there is information to be notified.
 6. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the firstnotification screen is a display screen that uses a notificationfunction of an operating system that the information processingapparatus has.
 7. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 6, wherein the notification function of the operating system is atoast notification function.
 8. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising a second determination unitconfigured to determine whether a different window is being displayed ona display unit, if the mode determined by the determination unit is thespecific operation mode, wherein the notification unit performs thenotification by the second notification screen based on the informationobtained by the obtainment unit, if it is determined by the seconddetermination unit that the different window is being displayed.
 9. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thenotification based on the information obtained by the obtainment unit isan error notification.
 10. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 9 further comprising a third determination unitconfigured to determine, based on the information obtained by theobtainment unit, whether an error has occurred based on an operationrequested of the information processing apparatus, if the modedetermined by the determination unit is the specific operation mode,wherein the notification unit does not perform the notification if it isdetermined by the third determination unit that an error has notoccurred based on the operation request of the information processingapparatus.
 11. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, further comprising a receiving unit configured to receive a conditionsetting when the notification unit performs the notification.
 12. Adisplay control method in an information processing apparatus capable ofcommunicating with an external apparatus, comprising: obtaininginformation from an external apparatus; determining an operation mode ofthe information processing apparatus; and performing a notificationbased on the obtained information, wherein if the mode determined is aspecific operation mode, performs the notification based on the obtainedinformation in a second notification screen that is smaller than a firstnotification screen, and, if the mode determined is not the specificoperation mode, performs the notification based on the obtainedinformation in the first notification screen.
 13. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing acomputer to function as: an obtainment unit configured to obtaininformation from an external apparatus; a determination unit configuredto determine an operation mode of the computer; and a notification unitconfigured to perform a notification based on the information obtainedby the obtainment unit, wherein the notification unit, if the modedetermined by the determination unit is a specific operation mode,performs the notification based on the information obtained by theobtainment unit in a second notification screen that is smaller than afirst notification screen, and, if the mode determined by thedetermination unit is not the specific operation mode, performs thenotification based on the information obtained by the obtainment unit inthe first notification screen.